Gov. Whitmer departs on Mideast trade mission as tipped wage deadline nears

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has departed the U.S. on a trade mission to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain with 10 days remaining until the Feb. 21 deadline when new laws requiring earned sick leave standards and hiking the minimum wage take effect.

Republican lawmakers and groups that advocate on behalf of restaurants and other businesses have been calling for the state Legislature to intervene and alter the coming policies that were spurred by a July Michigan Supreme Court ruling.

Under the looming changes, Michigan's tipped wage, which is currently $4.01 an hour, would be phased out and increased to $5.99 on Feb. 21 and then, gradually hiked to 100% of the regular minimum wage by 2031. The minimum wage will move from $10.56 an hour to $12.48 an hour on Feb. 21.

The Detroit News first reported on Friday that Whitmer was planning to participate in a trip to the United Arab Emirates. The Governor's Office confirmed Whitmer's travel to the Mideast in an announcement Tuesday morning, a day after the Democratic governor unveiled a long-term road funding proposal that featured unspecified tax increases for businesses.

"Michigan is an international leader in defense and aerospace, and this mission builds on our work to grow these key industries and bring jobs and investments back home,” Whitmer said in a statement. “By engaging with global partners in the UAE and Bahrain, we will highlight the strength of Michigan’s advanced manufacturing, engineering expertise, and cutting-edge research that drive innovation in defense and security, while showcasing why the international community should continue to expand and ‘Make It’ in Michigan."

A Michigan delegation will attend the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and Conference in Abu Dhabi, and Whitmer will participate in a women’s roundtable to discuss the status of women’s leadership in the U.S. and Middle East, according to the governor's office.

The announcement of the business recruiting trip didn't mention how long Whitmer would be away from the state of Michigan.

The delegation, which left Michigan Monday evening, will head back to Michigan on Feb. 19, one attendee, Ahmad Chebbani, chairman for the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, previously told The News. The governor's office didn't respond to multiple requests for comment about the trip.

Chebbani noted the state’s involvement in the IDEX in Abu Dhabi was critical to the state’s ability to attract more businesses to Michigan.

“We are participating and, hopefully, we can introduce ourselves and form a good relationship,” Chebbani said.

Among those traveling with the governor are be Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general of the Michigan National Guard, Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Quentin Messer, Jr., Oakland County Executive David Coulter, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Wayne County Deputy County Executive Assad Turfe and Osama Siblani, founder and chairman of The Arab American News.

On Tuesday, Sen. Roger Hauck, R-Mount Pleasant, compared Whitmer's overseas trip ahead of the Feb. 21 deadline to the ancient Roman emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

"She needs to be here," Hauck said. "Something needs to get done with this."

Likewise, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, tweeted, "While Gretchen Whitmer heads to Dubai and leaves Michigan workers in the cold, Republicans will be here fighting for them."

John Sellek, spokesman for the group Save MI Tips, which has been advocating for keeping the tipped wage in place, said Whitmer "can be effective for tipped workers from any location but we definitely need her leadership in this process."

"Since 2022 she's said this situation is not sustainable for the industry and she is open to supporting a legislative agreement," Sellek added. "We are counting on her."

Twelve years ago, when Whitmer was the state Senate minority leader, Republican then-Gov. Rick Snyder cut short a trade mission to Israel to return to Lansing to push for an expansion of the state's Medicaid program. At the time, Whitmer touted Snyder's decision to come back from the Middle East amid the negotiations in Lansing.

"I’m glad he came back from Israel," Whitmer said during Senate session on June 20, 2013. "I’m glad he’s here trying to push through Medicaid expansion legislation because it’s the right thing to do.

"We’re talking about half a million people in the state of Michigan whom you’re about to turn your backs on and go home on a vacation," she added of Republican lawmakers. "We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that could come into our state that other Republican governors have grabbed onto because it’s the right thing to do for the health of their people and for the welfare of their state."

The Republican-controlled Michigan House has already approved bills that would retain the state's lower minimum wage rate for tipped restaurant workers and limit the reach of the paid sick leave law.

The Democrat-controlled Michigan Senate is considering its own bills that alter the coming laws. For example, a proposal from Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, would increase the traditional minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2027, while keeping the tipped wage at 38% of the standard rate in 2025. Then Hertel's measure would gradually increase the tipped minimum wage to 60% of the traditional minimum wage over a 10-year period.

Hertel said he was hopeful the Michigan Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee would advance his proposal to the full Senate during a meeting on Wednesday.

"I wish we would have done it sooner," Hertel said of the approaching Feb. 21 deadline. "But I think we're really close. My objective is to get this done by Feb. 21."

Asked if Whitmer being out of the country would impact lawmakers' ability to get something done, Hertel replied, "The only thing that I can control is that we get a bill to the governor's desk. So I will do my best to make sure that happens."

Under current law, if workers' tips don't make up the difference with the traditional minimum wage, employers have to cover the shortfall.

The new regulations are partially the result of a July 31 Michigan Supreme Court ruling. In a 4-3 decision, the justices decided that six years earlier in 2018, Michigan lawmakers had unconstitutionally blocked two ballot proposals — one on earned sick time and one on the minimum wage.

GOP lawmakers had adopted the proposals to keep them from going before voters, and then changed them after Election Day to significantly weaken them and reduce the cost on businesses. The high court determined the proposals should become law as initially written. The Supreme Court set the effective date as Feb. 21.

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